There is no poison oak on this summit, at least not that I was able to identify, and it is my mortal enemy, so I've gotten pretty good at predicting where I'll find it and identifying it from an appreciable distance. I just wanted to clarify that as a previous post claimed to have encountered poison oak.
This summit is a horrible bushwhack, and like many of the summits in this part of the Gifford Pinchot, it's barely worth the points considering the effort it takes to climb it. It's steep and brushy and about the only nice thing I can say about it is there's no devil's club to contend with. You would think, upon finally obtaining the activation zone, that the return trip would be easier, but it is not. It's worse because you can't see where you're putting your feet.
Getting there: from highway 12 , when you get to the town of Randle, turn South on state route 131. After about a half mile, there is a fork in the road. Stay to the right on highway 131. Do not take the left fork to Cispus road. After another half mile route 131 turns into Forest Service road 25. Drive about 10 miles down the 25 road until you get to the 2516, where you'll take a right. Here are coordinates for the turn: 46.34766, -121.97049.
July 12th, 2023. This no-name peak, first activated by ND7PA in 2015 (thanks for the article), is found by taking Big Lake Rd (BLR - aka NF-2690) south from US 20 at the Santiam Pass, across from Santiam Sno-Park, approx. 90 minutes east of Salem and 60 minutes northwest of Bend.
Pinnacle Peak is quite a drive, at which there is no real parking, and no trail, which I suspect is why it hadn't been previously activated - that and the two points. Fun nonetheless, a sense of accomplishment, and some good views to the east.
Access to Saturday Rock summit is via NF-42 which begins at Sunset Campground at the end of NE Sunset Falls Road. The road is well graded, though peppered with its fair share of chuck holes. Follow NF-42 for approximately 9.4 miles to the intersection with NF-53. Continue on NF-53 for another 2.4 miles to the intersection of NF-53 and NF-38. Plenty of room to park at the intersection off the main roads.
